Fall of Inkopolis
by cra5hnburn
Summary: Agents 3 and 4 meet at last but they won't have an easy time of it, as they find that sometimes old enemies make good allies, and that for the city of inkopolis, time may be up.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

The Octarians have fallen once again, DJ Octavio is back in his snow globe, and Callie is back to normal. Those Octarians and Octolings who were against Octavio now live under the protection of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. Unfortunately some still remain that would like nothing more than to crush this tentative peace. And though the heroes work tirelessly to maintain it, it may soon unravel altogether

Chapter 1 Virus

(Carly's perspective)

Cast:

Carly aka Agent 4: an inkling girl with short green tentacles/hair, usually wears the hero hoodie and studio headphones with gray sea slug high-tops uses the Hero Splatling in battle

Emile aka Agent 3: inkling boy, blue default tentacles/hair and wears the Splatoon 1 hero suit, wields the Splattershot in battle

It was supposed to be just another routine check, a patrol through the Octarian lair to make sure they weren't causing trouble. Oh how wrong I was.

"Marie so far so good, no activity here" I said into the mic.

I hear her response in my ear , "Ok agent 4, keep going just in case, we don't want any unwelcome surprises."

Just as she said that, I heard gunfire.

I duck behind cover, "Octo-Snipers!? Here?"

I peak out, only to receive a shot to the face, "Owww! Good thing I had armor..."

I take out the sniper and move on clearing up resistance. I was generally making sure no innocents were harmed. I reached the last launchpad before the exit, and collapsed.

Next thing I know I'm in a hospital room. The beeping heart monitor and the sound of an IV pump ringing in my ears.

"ugh... what... happened?" I groaned.

Marie and an inkling boy I've never met are standing by my bedside talking, when they finally notice I'm awake Marie introduces him as agent 3.

"Agent 4 I have some bad news. That ink blast you took seems to have had a strange effect on your body. We're working on countering it. As far as we can tell however it seems to be acting like a virus. It's systematically killing you from the inside. We've been able to slow the progress. The problem is as far as I can tell you may only have a few..."

She choked on her words unable to finish. Agent 3 speaks up.

"If we can't find a cure the virus could kill you in as little as a month," He says solemnly.

"A month!?" I squeaked "I might be dead in a month!?"

The beeping of the heart monitor quickened as my heart races in panic.

"I only just got home from the war!"

Alarms go off as my heart begins to palpitate unsteadily.

"Agent 4 calm down! You can't lose hope! We're making progress towards a cure! It'll take just take time," Agent 3 said.

He began trying to calmly get me to lay down, and Marie yelled for help. A few nurses rush in and very soon my heart was stabilized again.

"I... I don't want to die... not... not like this..." I said, crying.

"You're going to be ok agent 4 we'll find a way to save you" Marie's words reassure me as I start to lose consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Love For the Girl Doomed to Die

(Emile's Perspective)

Cast:

Carly aka Agent 4: an inkling girl with short green tentacles/hair, usually wears the hero hoodie and studio headphones with gray sea slug high-tops uses the hero splatling in battle

Emile aka Agent 3: inkling boy, blue default tentacles/hair and wears the splatoon 1 hero suit, wields the splattershot in battle

"Are you sure we'll find Carly a cure?," I ask, as we exit Carly's room.

I felt it more comfortable refering to her by her real name now, as we were speaking in less formal terms.

"We have to! She doesn't deserve this fate, Emile! She's been nothing but kind to the innocent octolings and octarians," Marie replied.

I nodded in agreement. I snuck a look back at her room.

"I can't help but feel like I need to care for her. I don't know maybe I'm going crazy," I say thoughtfully.

"I think someone has a crush" Marie laughed, making me blush.

"N-no! I mean sure she's cute, but... ok maybe... but that's not what's important..." I stuttered, embarrassed.

I changed the subject, "What's important is that we try to find a cure. If all else fails, we can make sure she's taken care of until the time comes..."

I stood outside the door to Carly's room, thinking to myself, "What am I thinking-falling for a dying girl...not to mention a fellow agent..."

I hide my face in my hands, and laughed sheepishly at myself, "I need to get a grip. My first priority is finding a cure."

As I was arguing with myself, I heard crying from inside the room. I knock softly.

"May I come in Carly?" I asked softly

"Y-yes..." she said.

I open the door and walk in, she's sitting in bed, her tears staining her face with diluted ink.

"Hey, you ok?" I said sitting down, "Look, you don't have to worry. We're going to make sure you'll be ok."

"It's-it's not that, I've just-I've risked my life countless times in Octo valley, but I've never thought I'd actually-actually die. I'm going to miss out on everything!"

"Your not going to miss out on anything, and your not going to die either!" I say hugging her on instinct, "you're going to be just fine."

She remains still for a moment, then hugs me back.

"Thanks for that. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. It's just-I've never felt helpless like this," she says smiling a little "Can you promise me one thing?"

"What?," I said, pulling away from the hug.

"If I die-don't be so hard on the Octarians. They're-not all bad," She said.

"I won't be cruel, and you're not going to die!" I said, hugging her once more.

"Thanks- it's good to be prepared for the worst-" she said, "I'll be ok now. You should get some rest."

"Ok, but I'm not leaving you alone, alright?," I said moving to a chair., "Not tonight at least. You're in rough shape," And I sit down.

She nods and lays back. The rest of the night she lays still, unconscious again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The Dead Girl Rises, The Proud City Falls

Cast:

Carly aka Agent 4: an inkling girl with short green tentacles/hair, usually wears the hero hoodie and studio headphones with gray sea slug high-tops, and uses the Hero Splatling in battle

Emile aka Agent 3: inkling boy, blue default tentacles/hair and wears the Splatoon 1 hero suit, and wields the Splattershot in battle

(Emile's perspective)

I woke up in a cold sweat, "Damn, I need to do something about these nightmares, it's been 5 days and I can't stop thinking about her."

I checked on Carly before leaving the room. I grabbed my gear to head out. Marie had found a clue to a cure. However it would not be easy to reach. As I approached the meeting point I see Callie suited up as well.

"C-Callie? What are you doing?!" I stammered

"Helping you out of course! Stay fresh, we're saving your girlfriend!" She said, picking up her hero roller.

"But why!? You don't even know her!"

"Actually, she saved my life Squiddo," She replied using the nickname that she knew I despised.

"Don't call me that," I muttered "What do you mean she saved your life?"

"I mean she saved me from Octavio," Callie responded, I nod recalling the conversation Marie and I had about the events that took place in my absence.

"Alright, let's go, I'll watch your back, your roller is best used in front." I stated, then smiled reassuringly.

We walked for what felt like eternity. We finally got to the trader who had the cure and the trade was made. It was a relief to have the cure is in our possession.

"That-was way too easy..." I muttered, suspicion in my voice.

"Yep, we need to stay on guard. I trust the Octoling we just traded with, but you never know who's watching..."

Those words barely left her mouth when we get tackled by two Octolings with blood red tentacles.

"Your little friend isn't getting this cure any time soon!" The first one said confidently.

She had me pinned to the floor, and hissed, "Now what should we do with you two? How about putting you in a turf war?"

The second octling nodded, "Yes the one who wins lives! If there's a tie, you both die! Kiss this little cure goodbye, though!"

Several more Octolings appeared out of no where. They didn't even have a chance to talk before two of them burst into puddles of green ink.

"What's happening?" The Octoling who had me pinned gasped.

Her head whipped around looking behind her towards an area of the alley we couldn't see. The sound of a Heavy Splatling coming closer rang through the alleyway.

the Octoling stumbled back "I-I don't believe it!"

I heard a familiar voice yell back, "BELIEVE IT OR NOT YOU DAUGHTER OF A SEA SNAKE YOU'RE STILL GONNA FRY!"

As these words left an unseen mouth, the unknown Splatling opened fire. The octolings never had a chance. I heard the thud of our savior dropping her weapon and I ran to where Carly now lay gasping for air.

"You reckless idiot! You can't be off that IV!" I yelled at her, trying to help her up. She was turning ice cold, and anxiety filled my heart as I felt her forehead.

"You were, well, in-in trouble. I couldn't, I couldn't let y-you die!"

"Callie get that serum ready! Come on Carly stay with me!" I yelled, desperately.

I tried shaking her gently to keep her awake, but the virus was having it's way without the medication that had slowed it. I saw death creep over her, no longer held back by life support. I held Carly close, trying to warm her cold body and keep death at bay. Callie injected the serum, too late it seemed. I held on to Carly as she went limp in my arms.

"C-Carly...?" I choked, still clinging to her icy body, "Come on, wake up... Carly? Don't do this!"

Tears rolled down my face. It felt like time slowed to a halt. I couldn't help blaming myself for having failed her. I kissed her on the lips, still hoping for any act I tried would do something- anything. Alas, nothing seemed to worked, but as I held her to me once again I heard a quiet breathe. She was still alive! The serum was working.

I felt like an eternity passed before her eyes opened, and she smiled, "Do I owe you an apology?"

"No, you're fine. Just don't ever scare me like that again!" I said, tears of joy streaming down my face.

It still took weeks later she before she was officially released from the hospital. Our relationship blossomed into love between us afterward. However, I felt something nagging at me. It felt like I missed something important. These troubling thoughts stayed with me as Carly settled down at my house. I took the couch every night, despite my desire for other choices. I wanted our first night in bed together to be after we tied the knot.

The next morning the news reports turned the supposed happy ending into a dark beginning. Three words that spelt out a new threat.

"Inkopolis square, bombed!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Uncertainty

Cast:

Carly aka Agent 4: an inkling girl with short green tentacles/hair, usually wears the hero hoodie and studio headphones with gray sea slug high-tops, and uses the Hero Splatling in battle

Emile aka Agent 3: inkling boy, blue default tentacles/hair and wears the Splatoon 1 hero suit, and wields the Splattershot in battle

(Carly's perspective)

"How... who would go so far as to bomb the square!?" I gasped.

The scene on the television was grim. Two of my friends were injured badly in the explosion— Pearl and Marina, who handled news duty at the square. Instead, Marie and Callie were on news duty, neither of them could keep an optimistic tone.

"The casualties reached 15 dead, 30 critically injured, and many more trapped beneath rubble. Police have yet to identify a suspect, but it is believed to have been a deliberate act as homemade explosive components were discovered at the scene. If anyone has any clues as to the perpetrator of the attack please call the tip line on the screen. Volunteers to help those trapped are being organized by the fire department. Please go to their tent at the square if you wish to volunteer in finding more survivors," The news broadcast continued with, "No turf wars could be held today as Deca tower had fallen from the blast".

I looked at Emile, we both seemed to have the same idea. "Octavio..."

We made our way to the square, the once proud symbol of Inkopolis, Deca tower now was left as nothing more than ash and debris. The great Zapfish was unharmed and had been relocated to its former location at the plaza so as to continue powering the city.

We both signed up for the rescue efforts and began our search. There were many dead and, after volunteers worked for hours, the fired department called off the search for more survivors. It was too late to help anyone else. At the end of the day, 36 inklings were dead and 267 injured.

After the area was cleared of survivors, Emile and I made our way to Octo Valley, looking for signs that Octavio was on the move. To our surprise, Octavio was still where we left him.

"Inklings! You return again! It's good to see at least two of you cared to check on me."

"Shut up, Octavio! Who bombed Inkopolis Square!?" Emile Yelled.

Octavio reared back in surprise, "What!? What do you mean bombed!? Well, it wasn't me! You both know I can't do anything from in here. You also should recall I've never used any real explosives!"

He was right as much as it hurts to say it, Octavio was telling the truth, he'd never even once gone after civilian targets, this was uncharacteristic of him.

"If you didn't who would have?" I asked, still slightly suspicious

Octavio paused for a moment "I think I might have an idea: I had a general, when I was still leading the Octarians. He would squidnap and experiment on inklings. I put a stop to it as soon as I found out, but he said he wouldn't rest until Inkopolis was trembling at his feet. Later investigation revealed plans for weapons unlike anything seen before. I had deemed them too dangerous to use as they would cause far too many civilian casualties, but if that genocidal maniac is on the loose—who knows what he'll do with them."

I stepped back in shock, "You mean that this general created weapons of mass destruction that are even stronger than the Great Octo weapons!?"

"He created weapons strong enough to wipe out cities. We use Octo weapons for war. That monster created weapons to be used for terror," Octavio said grimly, "Look I know you don't trust me, but if you're going after him, then you need some supplies. Go to my Boss Kettle, there you might be able to find the investigation notes. You have to be careful, though. If that general has taken command, he won't tolerate inklings snooping about. I'd rather not have to spend eternity in a snow globe without anyone to talk to."

Octavio looked at them grumpily. I thought his joke was out of character. I look at Emile and he looked back. This was going to be harder than we had thought.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Investigation

Cast:

Carly aka Agent 4: an inkling girl with short green tentacles/hair, usually wears the hero hoodie and studio headphones with gray sea slug high-tops, and uses the Hero Splatling in battle

Emile aka Agent 3: inkling boy, blue default tentacles/hair and wears the Splatoon 1 hero suit, and wields the Splattershot in battle

(Carly's perspective)

"Are you sure about this?" I asked Emile, "He could be trying to get us killed!"

"Knowing Octavio, I know it's a trap. It's our only clue right now! We have to try! Let's go," He replied.

I nodded uncertainly, and followed him into the Boss Kettle.

As my eyes got accustomed to low lighting, I shuddered, "This is not how I left this place," I whisper.

It was different, the stands that had been full of spectators during my battle with Octavio were replaced by massive vats filled with various chemicals. In other places, there were innocent Octolings and Octarians strung up by their arms, feet, or neck. It looked like a horror movie, but it was all too real. Emile lost his lunch on the spot.

I ready my splatling preemptively. We move towards the center of the room, looking around more closely at the horror scene before us. Down a darkened hall, we heard faint footsteps. Slowly and defensively, we move down the dark hallway. Doors were spaced evenly down both sides of the hall. We decided to go door by door, so we opened the first door. It was yet another lab that was grotesquely set up. This one was filled with tubes— tubes which contained fellow inklings that were suspended in a strange green fluid.

I move to the nearest computer. It was on and surprisingly not password protected. I find a few folders on the desktop. I opened the first file. It was labeled "private". I made a face and closed it as soon as the contents met my eyes, "oh that's nasty!"

I move my cursor down and stopped it over a folder labeled Inkling Virus.

"Emile, you might want to look at this!" I called out. Emile was looking through one of the many binders, but moved over to where I was sitting.

"That's the virus that you were infected with! Wow!" He stooped down and began to read the notes on the file, "It's apparently an ink carried bioweapon designed to infect a target through contact with infected ink. 'Current test show however that it doesn't spread naturally from host to host, and must be administered directly through contact with ink.'" He quoted, then looked at me. He shuddered before continuing to read out loud, "'After a field test it was shown to be too slow and inefficient as the infected inkling was able to be cured of the disease. Furthermore the lack of contagious ability leaves the virus too easily contained.'"

"Look at all these files! Octavio wasn't lying, for a change! There's bioweapons, explosives, paralytic gas, neurotoxins, and missiles," I said, starting to list them off.

I reach down to the computer tower and pop off the side panel. "I'm going to pull the harddrives. Maybe we can do more research when we get it back to Inkopolis." I carefully remove the harddrives, and place them in my backpack."

"Let's get these inklings out of the tubes, too" Emile found the button used to drain the fluid and open the tubes. The inklings stumble out. I check on each one in turn, making sure they are able to move. Pushing the abort button on the tubes had set of alarms all over the lab. They blared and we and the surviving Inklings rushed to the Boss Kettle's exit. I chose to stay towards the back so I could fire my splatling to at the hostiles who were responding to the loud alarms. Emile managed to rescue some of the surviving innocent Octolings along the way. By the time we reach the exit and get out of there we had a small army of survivors, both inkling and Octoling, following us to safety.

"What is going on?! How could we miss such a terrifying operation going on right under our noses!" I said, looking at Emile as we ran.

"I don't know, but one thing is for sure, Octavio wasn't lying. There's more danger coming out of that lab then we have ever faced!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Reporting in

Cast:

Carly aka Agent 4: an inkling girl with short green tentacles/hair, usually wears the hero hoodie and studio headphones with gray sea slug high-tops, and uses the Hero Splatling in battle

Emile aka Agent 3: inkling boy, blue default tentacles/hair and wears the Splatoon 1 hero suit, and wields the Splattershot in battle

(Emile's perspective)

"Is everyone alright?" Carly says as we escaped the lair at last.

We had managed to rescue some of the Inklings and Octolings that had been trapped. Unfortunately many more remained down there—some dead, others soon to be so. Carly moved toward me and hugs me. I embrace her back. I tried to reassure her that we will find a way to fight back.

"Emile, we'd better report this to agents 1 & 2."

"Right, but let's get the survivors situated," I reply.

Many hours later, we got all the survivors we rescued situated with temporary accommodations. Afterward Carly called Marie on her phone to set up a meeting to share what we learned. We met in a coffee shop downtown. I still felt wary and kept watching through the window, feeling like I'd never get over what I had seen in that horrid lair

"So that's what happened." I concluded, having explained the events of yesterday to Marie and Callie. They were both horrified by the description we gave.

"And you're sure this mystery general is behind it?" Marie inquired.

"Yes, Octavio's description of this monster fits the evidence. He's the one, but there's more: he's also the one behind the virus that almost killed Carly." I continued. Marie and Callie are both fuming.

"Not only is he squidnapping inklings, he's killing his own people!" Callie blurted.

"And let's not forget he's likely the one behind the bomb that took out Inkopolis square and Deca tower." Marie added, "he's far worse than Octavio ever was..."

I slam my fist down on the table, "We have to do something about this monstrosity!"

"I'll tell you what we're going to do," Carly speaks up. "We're gonna hit that bastard where it hurts, we'll have to collect a few of the Octoling survivors that can still fight. We will turn that lab into a pool of ink. When that general shows his face he's going to receive the splatting of a lifetime!"

I was surprised at her sudden outburst. I had, to my knowledge, never experienced that kind of anger from her. The sheer determination in her tone was frightening.

"Are you sure about this Carly? I don't want to have to put you in danger again..."

She looked at me and placed her hand on mine, "If I don't go I might not be able to forgive myself for losing you—or any of the survivors. Should the worst occur, I'm not going to be sitting at a monitor crying. I'll be next to you to the end."

I nodded, knowing how caring Carly was. A person with someone to protect is a fearsome foe indeed.

I stood up, "Alright then, let's bring the fight to the enemy. Callie, Marie, I hope you're ready to play team leaders. We've got Octolings to train!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Preparation

Cast:

Carly aka Agent 4: An inkling girl with short green tentacles/hair, usually wears the hero hoodie and studio headphones with gray sea slug high-tops, and uses the Hero Splatling in battle

Emile aka Agent 3: Inkling boy, blue default tentacles/hair and wears the Splatoon 1 hero suit, and wields the Splattershot in battle

Carly's perspective

"Alright you all know the rules, Agent 1's team takes the north spawn and agent 2's team takes the south spawn." I shout over the noise of the teams as they prepared their weapons. We were in one of the turf war arenas. Since no official matches could be held, it worked out well. Currently we were on Port Mackerel.

"On the word go both teams may begin, ready?" Emile shouted, the spawn points lit up changing the inkling volunteers colors to match each other, and to my relief it did the same for the Octolings.

"3... 2... 1... GO!" I announce and start watching the screens that displayed the battle.

Several of Marie's teammates had spread out to cover a lot of ground while Marie acted as a beacon for her teammates to jump to when they respawned. Her splat charger kept most of Callie's team at bay, while her team pushed forward.

"Marie's strategy is working well, but I don't know about how resilient it is... should Marie get splatted her teammates have to hold out until she returns to her spot." I say, thinking out loud.

"But Callie is just blazing ahead without much of a plan. So Marie might have this in the bag." Emile noted.

As we watched it became apparent that the Octolings we had rescued certainly knew their way around a turf war but Callie had an ace up her sleeve. Her team split, each player going down a different lane, making it more difficult for Marie to hold them back. When time was called it was hard to tell who won.

"Looks like Marie still pulled it off, 52.6% to 47.0%" Emile said looking at the numbers.

"It was close towards the end though. Alright, ready to go head to head?" I replied, and pulled off my hero hoodie, revealing my signature turf war outfit, studio headphones with inksaver main, 1 sub of ink resist up, and 1 sub of inksaver main. Black V-neck tee with thermal ink, 1 sub of bomb defense and 1 sub of ink resist up. And finally my gray sea slug high tops with two subs of ink recovery up and one sub of ink saver main.

"Oh... you, aren't going to use your hero suit? I mean your headphones and shoes never change but I thought you'd stick with the hoodie." Emile said

"You really think I'm going to go easy on you and use my uniform with no abilities? Yeah, um, no thanks. Besides, it's not like you're wearing your uniform either."

He shrugged and grabbed his splattershot I equipped my hero splatling replica.

"You do know that that weapon isn't as good as it used to be, right?" Emile taunted.

"Well true, without he killer wail it is weaker, but I make due." I smiled at Emile, knowing he's never seen me in a turf war until today. Since Deca Tower fell I hadn't been able to participate in any turf wars. It felt great holding my beloved weapon in my hands again. This match would be one to remember.

"Just keep in mind, the focus of these turf wars is to prepare the volunteers for real combat, so make sure that you're not trying too hard to show me up," Emile says laughing.

"Trust me, when I play, I play for real."

"How about this then, if I win, I choose your weapon next round. If you win you choose mine," Emile says extending his hand.

"Deal, I hope you have an E-liter 4K scope handy!" I say, knowing his weaknesses.

"Then you'd better have an Octobrush." He says back, I look at him like he's crazy. However internally _I'm thinking He doesn't realize that though I hate ink brush with every fiber of my being, Octobrush is my second best weapon_.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Head to Head

Cast:

Carly aka Agent 4: An inkling girl with short green tentacles/hair, usually wears the hero hoodie and studio headphones with gray sea slug high-tops, and uses the Hero Splatling in battle

Emile aka Agent 3: Inkling boy, blue default tentacles/hair and wears the Splatoon 1 hero suit, and wields the Splattershot in battle.

Carly's perspective.

"Alright team, listen up! You all might know your way around a turf war, but here we're preparing for real combat. Play like there's no second chances!" My team all nods in unison. My team consisted of 2 inklings including myself and 2 Octolings, and clearly the Octolings and Inklings had become fast friends.

"You with the brush, use surprise for your advantage. Don't be risky because, if you try and take on more than you can handle, you won't last long. Hit them from behind or from places they won't expect," I say.

The Inkling nodded. I turned to the first Octoling who had a scoped E-liter. She had tenacity on her gear, which I knew would come in handy.

"You stay just within your range of mid and act as the beacon," I say to her, "I'll play forward and keep them from getting too close."

The Octoling smirked "This is going to be fun!"

The final member on our team had an splat Brella, "You stick with me. Cover as much turf as you can. Be ready to use your shield at any moment, I can use that like a splash wall and take out targets from behind it. While the brush picks off solo targets, we can focus on any larger group that pops up, everyone ready?"

"MA'AM YES MA'AM!" They shout in unison.

The match began. I placed a sprinkler at spawn and followed the E-liter and Brella. The brush rushed forward. Since we were on the reef the E-Liter set up just outside spawn near the lamp post. Our first encounter with Emile's team occurred seconds after dropping down from the ledge. The umbrella opened in time to catch a roller flick while I charged up and unleashed a stream of ink in response. I took out the roller before he could fling anymore ink.

We kept moving forward. I saw the brush take out Emile from behind. I placed another sprinkler on the bridge at Mid, and saw the E-liter pick off a second roller.

"Two Rollers, a Splattershot, and what else…," I muttered softly to myself.

The answer surprised me as an Aerospray popped out of his ink and splatted the umbrella before I could react. I jumped off the bridge and tried staying out of range, just barely splatting her before he took me out. I quickly swam under the bridge and charged up. This was where I excelled, playing aggro and pulling the enemy to me while my team dealt with turf coverage. One of the rollers jumped off the bridge in front of me, but took several shots to the back. I spun taking out the Aerospray before she could get close. I swam forward firing into their spawn. My special was ready. I super jumped back to spawn and took aim at the silhouette closest to our sniper. Firing, I splatted him before he could take out the sniper. I super jumped to the Brella user. Taking the path under the bridge again I came face to face with Emile.

"Fancy meeting you here!" I said slyly as I fired a full charge towards him, he ducked into his ink and swam away, but I had hit him once. Tracking him through the wall, I saw him run over the bridge and jump off. Unfortunately for him, where he landed was full of my gunfire as I Splatted and took him out.

"And that's why I have thermal ink," I said, before taking a roller flick to the back.

The sweet spot missed and I managed to escape to recover. Unfortunately for me, a well placed burst bomb cut me off before I could catch my breath. Our sniper finished off the roller, but Emile had me cornered.

"Aww carp…!" I muttered as I realized I was low on ink. I try to jump out of the puddle of ink I was stuck in but took a few hits. As I'm about to go down, the brush leaps over my head from the platform behind me and splats Emile.

"Careful, don't take too many risks, remember?" The Brush said, a little too smug.

"Right. Thanks for that!" I say back, and time was called.

Both teams head to mid as Marie, currently dressed as Agent 2, for obvious reasons, gave us the results.

"By only a matter of 1.2 percent, Agent 4's team took the win. For personal stats, you'll receive them this evening. For now you're dismissed to prepare for the second round."

"Emile, you better go grab your E-liter!" I giggled, "It was a close game, but I still won!"

"Yeah, yeah... I'm still a little salty over that last splat."

"Awww it's ok. If it makes you feel better, I'll use my secondary weapon next round!" I reply deviously.

He looks at me puzzled but shrugs, "Whatever…!"

We hug each other and I kiss him on the cheek before I head off. Time to equip my Octobrush!

(Emile's perspective)

"We almost got them! We can do it this round. Just focus on turf a little more because I think I speak for all of us when I say we got a little trigger happy." I say.

The rest of my group nods as we move to our spawn. On the big screen of starfish main stage I saw Carly's team. And her equipment had definitely changed.

"Holy carp... she's using Octobrush!" I groaned.

I suddenly realized that, either she was kidding about using her secondary, or I was in for a world of hurt.

As the match began I noticed a change in Carly's strategy. First I noted that Carly's team now consisted of 2 Octobrushes, a Trislosher, and an Aerospray, I also quickly computed that they were being far more aggressive. I lost both rollers within the first 30 seconds, and I still hadn't seen Carly. I ran towards Mid, stopping on the tower outside spawn and picked off the Aerospray. Hearing the sound of someone swimming in ink, I spun around effortlessly. No one seemed to be near me.

"What just happened?" I say.

I run and jump off the side of the platform and over a small puddle of enemy ink. I didn't think anything of it and kept going thinking it was insignificant. Unfortunately for me, Carly popped out of it and splatted me. I respawned and checked my map. My teammates were being backed up to our spawn and were pinned down by the Aerospray and Trislosher. The brushes were using ninja squid and helping them pick my teammates off. Every time we pushed forward the brushes came behind us to pick us off. I was frustrated.

"We don't have enough time for these tactics we're trying! Go around the sides and flank them while I keep them occupied!" I say over my team's comms. Pushing forward, I jumped into what had become a kill room. Dodging the Aerospray I fired a large wave of ink from the Trislosher, but to my surprise the brushes were absent. Thanks to my lousy aim, I couldn't hit the attackers, though my life depended on it. The rollers made their way around the sides and behind the other two opponents. Just as the rollers found their proper places in the battle, an Octobrush user leaped down from the platform between them and they fell victim to her ink. I charged up and splatted the Aerospray after more attempts than I care to share. I was quickly taken out by the Trislosher, and as soon as I respawned, time was called.

I ran over to Carly to congratulate her, "Damn, and you said this was your secondary," I said, gasping for air, absolutely winded.

"It is, but the team worked better like this, so I had to do less rescuing," She replied, also out of breath.

"I'll tell you one thing, you're a deadly strategist," I said back. She hugged me, and we headed to Mid, only to find the obvious. She had won 63.7% to 16.9%.

That night when we returned home we felt quite a bit better about our chances, "That general better watch his back, because we're not messing around now!" I chortled.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Investigating the unexpected peace

Carly's perspective

Almost a year had passed since we started training our new recruits. About a month after the bomb had taken down Inkopolis tower, the turf wars began anew, and we hesitantly returned to normalcy. We did double the patrols in octovalley, but we couldn't find anything to suggest further threats. After nearly 4 months Emile finally popped the all important question to me. Of course my answer was yes. We said our vows and officially joined together. That was six months ago, and we started to grow nervous. That's when Emile, Callie, Marie, and I decided to launch a plan into action to determine if the threat had passed.

"You sure you're ok Carly? You've been nauseated every morning for a few weeks now..." Emile asked as we approached the Rendezvous point.

"I'm fine... I'm not Gonna let you head off god knows where without me!" I say back, though I myself knew something wasn't quite right with me, but I did my best to push on. "Besides I'm just serving as rear guard this time. I'll keep out of harms way." He shrugs and gives me a hug from the side.

"If you say so, come on their waiting for us!" Emile charges ahead and I follow, after a quick briefing and a shifting of roles, I got stuck with Marie on comms. I wasn't against it seeing as I had admitted that I wasn't exactly in tip top shape. Emile, Callie, 4 octolings and 2 inkling volunteers headed deep into octovalley.

"Marie, I don't think we're alone this time..." Callie calls in after quite a time of silence.

"Something's wrong, it's eerily dead in here, we haven't even seen any octarians..." Emile adds.

"You need to keep going, there's something ahead but I can't figure out what it is from where you're standing," I was looking through the camera attached to Emile's headset, when I saw something massive come crashing down behind the squad. "There's something on your six!" I bark, the squad turns as one to identify the new threat.

"Dear god... RUN!" I squeak a massive metal monstrosity was bearing down on our little squad, My heart was racing as I watched it. Before I could say another word a whiplike tentacle snatched Emile's arm, he managed to pull away but another inkling was caught and disappeared into the machine. Screams cried out and were cut short just as suddenly as they began. I was breathing hard, "Emile... get out of there! It... it's gonna..." I say gripping my chest, my vision goes fuzzy Marie catches me.

"Agent 4! Are you alright!?" Marie says frantically, "Agent 3 theres an octarian on its head nail it! Agent 4! Come on Carly..."

"M-Marie... I... I'm... I'm ok..." I manage to whisper

"No you aren't agent 4 keep still, Agent 3 said you've been having morning sickness and have been eating more than usual... is that true?"

"Y-yes..."

"Agent 3 I'm pulling you out, Agent 2 escort him to a safe point. The rest of you keep going. We still need to get to the bottom of this" Marie barks and turns off her comm, "why didn't you tell me you were expecting!?"

"E-expecting... wh-what?" I say weakly, my heart still racing from the stress of the situation.

"How do you not know you're pregnant you idiot!?"

Authors note: ok... I had been intending to stop last chapter because I hadn't had much motivation to write. However I received some feedback which compelled me to continue this story so... here's the next chapter I guess, sorry it was short but I really wanted to get it out before too long, don't worry I'll keep adding on until it's done, so longer chapters ahead!


	10. Chapter 10

chapter 10 A Minor Hiccup Turned Major Disaster

Cast:

Carly aka Agent 4: An inkling girl with short green tentacles/hair, used to wear the hero hoodie and studio headphones with gray sea slug high-tops but recently switched to the gold high-horses and black v-neck tee and uses the Hero Splatling replica in battle

Emile aka Agent 3: Inkling boy, blue default tentacles/hair and wears the Splatoon 1 hero suit, and wields the Splattershot in battle.

(Emile's perspective)

"Pregnant!? That's amazing! I thought she was getting a little pudgy..." I squeak as I receive a slap from Marie. " ow... Anyway… not the greatest time to find out…" I say in shocked surprise. "I mean… when I heard the commotion over the comms I was scared half to death! I'm Just glad she's ok… damn the stress must have been too much"

"She's probably gonna have the child within a few weeks, I'm surprised neither of you realized!" Callie says, her voice full of confusion.

"Well at least we found out..." Marie sighs, "This does mean that you're Both gonna have to be careful, and Carly isn't going to be on duty... as much as she's probably gonna be mad about that" I nod, it's a big shock but it makes a lot of sense... definitely not the greatest time for this, but at least it wasn't when Carly is near dead...

After a while of talking, I go in to check on Carly. "So... what's your thoughts on this?" I ask a little worried she might be scared...

"You know... part of me feels stupid for not figuring this out... but the rest is happy for us." Carly smiles, "sure I have to be off duty for a while but it's going to be wonderful nonetheless" I smile back, it's a tender moment, and I'm glad we're both happy about this.

The weeks come and go, repeated attempts to return to octarian territory are met with failure. We're all getting uneasy. Except for Carly, she's happily decorating and furnishing the new baby's room, and keeping my spirits high. Finally the time came when the baby was coming. We rushed to the hospital once again, praying for a safe delivery.

[Carly's perspective]

"Push! You can do it!" Emile urges, I'm tired and pushing as hard as I can if Emile had any bones in his hand they would certainly be broken… finally the baby's cries can be heard and I can rest

(I'm never doing this again) I think to myself, but then I get to hold the baby. and I'm instantly regretting those thoughts. She's precious, innocent, and so adorable.

"she's beautiful." Emile says, and I can't help but agree, she is beautiful. unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to say anything as at that moment, my world shattered. A shockwave rocks the room. screams of terror and pain are cut short. Emile grabs hold of me and the baby, time seemingly slows to a crawl as I can only watch in horror as the building collapses around us soon all I see is a black void as I drift into unconsciousness.

What happens next is only fuzzy memory. A bright light above me, the feeling of being pulled from rubble, an ambulance siren, a heartbeat monitor, and lastly the sound of someone next to me flatlining.


End file.
